Where's My Perry? Review

It’s inevitable. If a game hits, there will be sequels or spin offs in the app store in short measure. With Disney Mobile’s Where’s My Water? making one of the biggest splashes last year, it’s no surprise to see the gameplay extended in Where's My Perry? The game is based on the hit for-tweens cartoon, Phineas and Ferb, and offers the same core gameplay with new gizmos, garden gnomes, confetti and a less-than-intrepid sleuth named Perry the Platypus, aka Agent P. While this new iteration isn’t innovative, the clever dialog and new obstacles make a nice gift from Disney for fans of Swampy or the O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym).

There’s probably more backstory, or inside jokes I’m missing, but I needed two eight-year-olds to bring me this far up to speed. I didn’t need an explanation on how to play, though, and neither will anyone who’s played Where’s My Water. The game employs the same mechanics. The object is to draw paths through underground dirt in order to get water, not into a bathtub, but rather into a tube that will fuel Perry’s teleporting thingy.

The first indication that something's different in Where’s My Perry? comes after the tutorial levels; we meet his nemesis, Dr Doofenshmirtz, and his arsenal of “inators”. There’s a Heat-inator which turns water into rising steam, a Cool-inator which freezes, and a Celebrat-inator that mysteriously turns water into confetti. Players need to consider routes that turns the H2O into all its forms (including fictional) to help Perry make good his escape.

The game isn’t terribly original for those of us who’ve taken on every bathtub, although the solutions require more out-of-the-box thinking. Players collect three gnomes instead of rubber duckies and there are hidden levels to uncover by collecting secret files. There are three concealed within each “mission." Finding them introduces a new foe, Baloony, and a course reversal where gameplay goes up instead of down.

There’s a lot of chatter in the game, and those who know the cartoon probably find it amusing. But don’t mistake the cartoon skin for a child’s game, there are some brain benders here. The graphics, sounds and UI are all top notch and evocative of the game’s inspiration. The only complaint I’ve heard is that on iPhone the screen is a bit small for full-sized fingers. I played on iPad and found the screen real estate more than ample for my pudgy digits.

That said, I can’t help feeling Where’s My Perry? Is a little too close to Where’s My Water? to earn top marks. As a sequel it’s more than solid, just download prepared for more of what you know and love, not a new experience.